Department for Transport

Motorways

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of vehicles that were assisted by Highways England after vehicular failure on a smart motorways in each of the last three years.

George Freeman: Highways England collects data across its Strategic Road Network on the number of breakdown incidents managed by its regional control centres. To provide this information, Highways England has applied the following requirements as detailed below to then calculate the totals shown in the table. The data presented below summarises the number of incidents categorised as a ‘breakdown’ in their incident management logs. The data only includes incidents when Highways England Traffic Officers have attended such a breakdown incident and only captures incidents which are mapped to operational smart motorway locations. The total mileage of smart motorways on the strategic road network increased during the assessed period, which is due to new schemes opening and becoming operational. Year201620172018TotalTotal no. ‘breakdown’ incidents16,76320,42125,33362,517

Motorways

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average time taken for Highways England to provide assistance to motorists on smart motorways after vehicular failure.

George Freeman: Highways England monitors the performance of its management of incidents across the Strategic Road Network. Highways England’s Traffic Officers provide assistance on the network to all motorists who require help. Using its recorded data, Highways England has summarised in the table below the average response times for Traffic Officers to arrive on scene at incidents which have been reported to, and are being managed, by its regional control centres. Highways England has used the same data parameters as set out in PQ answer 992. The amount of smart motorway increased during the assessed period, due to new schemes opening. This data provides Traffic Officer response times for breakdown incidents which are mapped to operational smart motorway locations. The average response time (in hh:mm:ss) for breakdown incidents between 2016 and 2018 is set out in the table below. Year201620172018Total average response time00:16:0400:17:0700:17:39

Motorways: Accidents

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many accidents there have been on Smart motorways as a result of a change in the use of lanes in each of the last three years.

George Freeman: It is not possible to provide data on the number of accidents on Smart motorways as a result of a change in use of lanes, as we cannot determine that as the cause. Data is collected on factors that contribute to how and why personal injury road accidents occur. However, it is not possible to attribute the cause of an accident to the presence or absence of Smart motorways operation.

Electric Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting manufacturers to increase the range of electric cars.

George Freeman: I talk regularly to Cabinet colleagues about a range of issues. In terms of improving the range of electric vehicles, the Government has committed £274m from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to the Faraday Battery Challenge to advance battery technology. This funding is supporting battery R&D from the Faraday Institution’s academic research, through Innovate UK’s programme of collaborative applied R&D, to scale-up in the cutting-edge UK Battery Industrialisation Centre. The aims of the Faraday Battery Challenge include improving the energy density of batteries, improving our understanding of temperature effects on range, and reducing battery costs which will make longer range electric vehicles more affordable. The Secretary of State is continuing to discuss with Cabinet colleagues what support the government might provide to industry to support the switch to zero emission vehicles.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason Highways England has not responded to Jordan Products Ltd following the meeting of 21 June 2019 on Conemaster.

George Freeman: No contact has been received from Jordan Products Ltd since 21 June 2019. However, Highways England has been reviewing its position and would be happy to talk to Mr Jordan should he make contact.

Southeastern: Franchises

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding was provided by his Department through the Deeds of Amendment signed with London and South Eastern Railway Ltd in (a) December 2016 and (b) September 2017.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department has reviewed and concluded that this information is commercially sensitive and so cannot be shared.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

George Freeman: We want the transition to 2040 to be consumer and market-led, supported by the measures set out in the Road to Zero strategy. The Government’s ambition is to have one of the best infrastructure networks in the world for electric vehicles, and we want chargepoints to be accessible, reliable, affordable and secure. We want to encourage and leverage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network supported by the right policy framework. Government funding and leadership, alongside private sector investment, has supported the installation of more than 20,000 public chargepoints. This includes 2,000 rapid chargepoints, one of the largest rapid networks in Europe. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles is going further and is working with industry to set out a vision by Autumn 2019, for a core infrastructure network of rapid and high powered chargepoints across England’s key road network. The Government’s grant schemes and the £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund will also see thousands more chargepoints installed across the UK. Highways England has committed £15m to ensure there is a rapid chargepoint (where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020, and the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act gives Government powers to ensure appropriate provision of chargepoints at motorway service areas and large fuel retailers if needed.

Aviation: EU Countries

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on ensuring the maintenance of flights to and from Europe after the UK has left the EU.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The UK and EU have both put in place measures to ensure that flights can continue in any EU Exit scenario. In a no deal scenario, the EU’s adopted Regulation on connectivity gives UK airlines the right to fly to and from the EU from the day of exit until a proposed date of October 2020, allowing time to progress longer-term arrangements. The UK has stated we will reciprocate these rights for EU airlines. Both sides are committed to maintaining connectivity.

Northern Rail Franchise

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on replacing the Northern Rail franchise.

Chris Heaton-Harris: We are developing contingency plans for the replacement of the current franchise with either a new short-term management contract with Northern or the Operator of Last Resort (OLR). If we find the operator to be in default of its current contract and that default was material and not capable of remedy, we have the right to terminate the current franchise. If such a right is exercised, a decision on next steps will be based on a full and rigorous analysis into what delivers the best outcomes for passengers and taxpayers and what would best enable the implementation of the forthcoming recommendations of the Williams Review. We will take a decision once we have the full information, and will provide Parliament with a full update on these next steps at the appropriate time.

Buses: Electric Vehicles

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his 30 September 2019 press release entitled A better deal for bus users, whether the buses for the all-electric bus town will comprise retrofitted vehicles or a new electric fleet.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his 30 September 2019 press release entitled A better deal for bus users, what estimate he has made of the number of new electric buses in the all-electric bus town which that funding will be able to buy.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his 30 September 2019 press release entitled A better deal for bus users, what eligibility criteria he plans to put in place for local authorities and bus operators bidding in relation to the proposed all-electric bus town or city.

George Freeman: On 30 September, the Government announced that up to £50 million of funding would be made available for an all-electric bus town or city. The funding will see an entire place’s bus fleet changed over to new zero emission capable buses. Such a town or city will serve as a model for zero-emission bus travel. The number of new buses will depend on the detail of the schemes proposed and selected, and further details including eligibility criteria will be published shortly.

M56: Accidents

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of reported personal injury road accidents in each category of severity on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in each month of the last five years for which figures are available.

George Freeman: The number of reported personal injury road accidents by severity on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in each month of the last five years available is provided in the table attached. 



M56 Junctions 12-14 road accidents
(Word Document, 25.61 KB)

Motorways: Accidents

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on the number of serious incidents associated with all-lane-running motorway schemes.

George Freeman: The table below reflects the number of collisions where a casualty was recorded as serious on all lane running smart motorways between 2015-2017Smart Motorway TypeCollision severity201520162017All Lane Running (ALR)Serious123533 All data used is validated STATS19 data and includes collisions on main carriageways and slip roads from 2015-2017 (3 years). 2018 STATS19 data has recently been released and we are currently analysing the data, hence it not being included above. The figures include all incidents where a collision was recorded / classified as including a serious injury regardless of causation, contributory factors or circumstances of the incident. It should be noted that the total length of ALR smart motorways increased during the 3-year period; from two schemes in 2015 to eight schemes in 2017. Highways England continues to deliver the Smart Motorway Programme, increasing the number of schemes year on year. The Secretary of State, as set out in the House on 24 October 2019, has asked the Department to carry out, at pace, an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about smart motorway safety.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies her Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.

Nadhim Zahawi: Further to the answer to Question 171303, the department continues to use a range of surveys and data when formulating and evaluating its policies. Estimates of personal well-being show that average life satisfaction, happiness and worthwhile ratings are high, and all have increased year-on-year since 2015. Average anxiety is low and has decreased since 2012. The department’s mission is to build a stronger, greener future. This means preparing businesses for Brexit and the opportunities that lie ahead, leading the world in tackling climate change, solving the Grand Challenges facing our society and making the UK the best place to work and grow a business. We are mindful of the impact these priorities have for people across the UK and all these policies can have a positive impact on wellbeing. Almost nothing has as great an impact on personal wellbeing as employment. The UK currently has high employment rates and increased participation amongst historically under-represented groups. The What Works Centre for Wellbeing has found that being in a job is good for wellbeing, when measured by life satisfaction, but being in a good quality job is even better. We are creating fairer, inclusive and flexible workplaces so everyone has the chance to succeed as well as balance work and home life. We have made good progress to implement the Good Work Plan in the past year, including passing a raft of secondary legislation to boost workers’ rights and consulting on policies to enhance flexibility whilst reducing opportunities for the deliberate misuse of flexibility by employers. We are improving lives by tackling our Grand Challenges, in the context of an ageing society, we need to ensure that people can live and work well for longer. So far, we have announced £98 million of investment through the Healthy Ageing Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to stimulate well-designed innovations that support people to enjoy active and independent lives for longer. This summer we also committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and end our contribution to global warming by 2050, recognising the importance of our environment to our wellbeing today and into the future. We will drive economic growth through the race to cut carbon and accelerate climate action through strong global leadership.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Cycling

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the number of staff in her Department who cycled to work in each year since 2014.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department provides extensive cycle storage, changing and wash facilities at several of its buildings, including its main office site at 1 Victoria Street.There is also a cycle to work scheme which enables individuals to buy a bike and spread the cost by paying instalments directly from their salary. For the year 2018 there were 92 members of the cycle to work scheme and for 2019 Jan – to date there are currently 337 members. We do not hold data before this time because of a change in payroll system.

Business: Regulation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps she is taking to reduce the regulatory burden on business after the UK leaves the EU.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Government seeks to build a positive regulatory environment for business and ensure that the public continue to enjoy the highest standards of protections. My Rt Hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced plans to hold a Brexit Red Tape Challenge. We shall set out next steps on this in due course.

Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 373, how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to the SSI Taskforce to date.

Nadhim Zahawi: Recognising the unique requirements of certifying existing skills and retraining in the steel and heavy manufacturing sector, and the economic vulnerability of the area around the Redcar steelworks, around £53 million has been provided to support schemes identified by the SSI Task Force to support impacted workers.

Companies: Glasgow East

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on which date (a) she or (b) a Minister in her Department last visited a company headquartered in Glasgow East constituency.

Nadhim Zahawi: Since being appointed in July 2019, Ministers in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy have undertaken a programme of visits to Scotland, including a visit to Glasgow by Lord Duncan of Springbank in August. Additionally, the ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ business readiness events roadshow visited Glasgow on 25 September. Over 100 attendees joined and received advice from across Government on how to prepare their business for Brexit. In an informal survey following the event, over 80% of delegates reported feeling better prepared for Brexit having attended.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Syria: Military Intervention

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) diplomatic and (b) economic steps the Government plans to take to encourage the Turkish Government to stop its military incursion in territory in Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces; and if the Government will suspend existing licences for arms exports to Turkey until that military incursion is ended.

Dr Andrew Murrison: ​The UK has repeatedly called on Turkey to end its military action in north-east Syria. The Prime Minister made this clear when he spoke to President Erdogan on 12 October and 20 October. We have also, with European partners, raised this issue at the UN Security Council.As the Foreign Secretary told the House of Commons on 15 October, the Government takes its arms export control responsibilities very seriously and keeps our defence exports to Turkey under careful and continual review. No further export licences to Turkey for items which might be used in military operations in Syria will be granted while we conduct that review.

Kosovo: Recognition of States

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state.

Christopher Pincher: ​The United Kingdom was among the first countries to recognise Kosovo as an independent state in February 2008. We remain one of Kosovo's foremost allies and strongest supporters. The United Kingdom lobbies, along with key international partners, to ensure countries have a full understanding of the facts regarding Kosovo. The United Kingdom supports Kosovo's integration into the international rules-based system through membership of international organisations, which can help promote security, stability and prosperity. The FCO actively supported Kosovo's Interpol membership bid in 2018 and continues to support them in their membership of the World Customs Organisation. The EU (and a number of other organisations such as NATO and the OSCE) have a "status neutral" approach towards Kosovo, since not all members recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state.

Kosovo: Recognition of States

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state in (a) the EU and (b) other major international bodies.

Christopher Pincher: The United Kingdom was among the first countries to recognise Kosovo as an independent state in February 2008. We remain one of Kosovo’s foremost allies and strongest supporters. The United Kingdom lobbies, along with key international partners, to ensure countries have a full understanding of the facts regarding Kosovo. The United Kingdom supports Kosovo’s integration into the international rules-based system through membership of international organisations, which can help promote security, stability and prosperity. The FCO actively supported Kosovo’s Interpol membership bid in 2018 and continues to support them in their membership of the World Customs Organisation. The EU (and a number of other organisations such as NATO and the OSCE) have a “status neutral” approach towards Kosovo, since not all members recognise Kosovo as a sovereign state.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Migrant Camps

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential increase in severity of the humanitarian situation for refugees and migrants in the Vucjak camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a result of changing seasons.

Christopher Pincher: ​The infrastructure that supports migrants in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is under pressure, especially as we come to the coldest part of the year. A number of humanitarian organisations assess that the Vučjak site is unsafe and undignified and have urged the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to relocate those based at the site urgently. Since 2018, EU funding to Bosnia and Herzegovina on migration issues has amounted to a total of €34m, including the United Kingdom contribution, and the United Kingdom provided £565,000 of bilateral funding to communities affected by migration at the start of 2019.

Abdullah Öcalan

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Turkish Government on the imprisonment of Abdullah Ocalan.

Christopher Pincher: ​The former Minister for Europe raised this issue most recently on 13 May with the Turkish Ambassador. The United Kingdom has encouraged the Turkish authorities to implement the recommendations made by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) following their previous visit to the prison in 2016.The British Government engages closely with Turkey to encourage the full protection of fundamental rights, including with regard to the treatment of detainees. I emphasised the importance of these issues when I met the Turkish Ambassador in September. We shall continue to monitor the situation closely and maintain our support for legitimate and democratic Kurdish groups in Turkey.

North Macedonia: EU Enlargement

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his French counterpart on support for opening EU accession negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia.

Christopher Pincher: ​The United Kingdom regards the EU Accession process as fundamental to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans. At the European Council on 17-18 October, the United Kingdom made clear that it was ready to support the opening of EU Accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. We continue to discuss regularly Western Balkan issues with international partners, including France, in bilateral contacts.

Catalonia: Sovereignty

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Spanish counterpart on the recent prison sentences for Catalan separatist leaders; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Pincher: ​As I outlined in Parliament on 15 October, this is a matter for the Spanish courts. Political leaders, like anyone else, have a duty to abide by the law.

Embassies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which embassies represent the UK in more than one state.

Christopher Pincher: The following Missions represent the United Kingdom in more than one State, as duly indicated:British Embassy in Angola (São Tomé and Príncipe)British High Commission in Barbados (Dominica, St Kitts & Nevis)British High Commission in Cameroon (Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Chad*)British Embassy in Costa Rica (Nicaragua)British Embassy in Democratic Republic of Congo (Republic of Congo, Central African Republic)British Embassy in Ethiopia (Djibouti*)British High Commission in Fiji (Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Tonga*, Tuvalu)British Embassy in France (Monaco)British High Commission in Ghana (Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin)British Embassy in Guatemala (Honduras)British High Commission in Guyana (Suriname)British Embassy in Indonesia (East Timor)British Embassy in Italy (San Marino)British Embassy in Madagascar (Comoros)British Embassy in Mali (Niger*)British High Commission in New Zealand (Samoa*)British Embassy in Philippines (Palau)British High Commission in Rwanda (Burundi)British Embassy in Senegal (Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau)British High Commission in Solomon Islands (Nauru)British Embassy in Spain (Andorra)British Embassy in Switzerland (Liechtenstein) *Resident Heads of Mission are due to be appointed to these countries by the end of 2021. Information on British Missions overseas including through links to details on their services and responsibilities can be found on the following public website: https://www.gov.uk/world/embassies

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Official Cars

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many Government (a) cars and (b) drivers are allocated to Ministers in his Department.

Christopher Pincher: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not allocate specific cars to Ministers. Instead the FCO uses the London Car Service (LCS), which is run by FCO Services, to transport Ministers, Officials and documents. FCO Services has 5 vehicles, all of which are Petrol/Electric hybrids.

Spain: Foreign Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his Spanish counterpart; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Christopher Pincher: ​The Foreign Secretary met his Spanish counterpart in the margins of the Gymnich on 29 August and they discussed no deal contingency planning and EU Exit. I met the Spanish Ambassador on 18 September and we discussed EU Exit no deal contingency planning, the bilateral relationship and the situation in Catalonia. I further met the Spanish Ambassador on 10 October.

Cabinet Office

Employment: Essex

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of working people in (a) Romford constituency and (b) Essex were employed in the public sector in each of the last five years.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in (a) Romford constituency and (b) Essex were employed by (i) small and (ii) medium-sized businesses in each of the last two years.

Kevin Foster: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 104.52 KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Drugs

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on compassionate use programmes that allow the use of an unauthorised medicine.

Ms Nadine Dorries: In the United Kingdom, there are currently arrangements in place for unlicensed medicines to be provided that are either manufactured in the UK or imported into the UK under a notification scheme. The national provisions are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (Statutory Instrument 2012/1916). Sponsor companies may set up compassionate use programmes under the direction of a prescribing physician for specific patients.Where an unmet need has been identified, the Early Access to Medicines Scheme run by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency also provides opportunity for supply of medicines awaiting a licence. These are to be prescribed under the responsibility of the treating physician, supported by a published scientific opinion that has been considered by the Commission on Human Medicines.

Loneliness: Social Prescribing

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 25 of the Government's strategy for tackling loneliness, published in October 2018, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of social prescribing since that strategy was published; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Churchill: No assessment has been made. In the NHS Long Term Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement committed to deliver at least £4.5 billion of new investment in primary medical and community health services over the next five years. Part of this investment will support the recruitment of over 1,000 trained social prescribing link workers in place by the end of 2020/21, rising further by 2023/24, with the aim that over 900,000 people are able to be referred to social prescribing schemes by then. NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to get all social prescribing services, local commissioners and providers involved in measuring the impact of social prescribing locally. It has developed a Common Outcomes Framework (COF) for social prescribing which will enable social prescribing connector schemes across the country to capture core impact data. This will help to create a consistent evidence base; support the business case; and, build a national picture of the impact of social prescribing. The outcomes cover three key areas: the impact on the person; the impact on community groups; and the impact on the health and care system. NHS England and NHS Improvement will be working with stakeholders in a phased approach over the next two years to embed the use of the measures in the COF for the evaluation of social prescribing schemes.The COF can be found via the following link:www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/social-prescribing-community-based-support-summary-guide.pdf On 23 October 2019, the Government launched a new independent organisation: the National Academy for Social Prescribing, which is set to receive £5 million in grant funding from April next year to support its work. Since its development was announced in November 2018, the Department and NHS England have been working with a broad range of partners both in and out of Government to build consensus on the form and focus of the organisation in order that it deliver the greatest impact. The Academy will be working to: build and promote the evidence base for social prescribing and sharing best practice; developing training and accreditation across sectors; exploring new models and sources of funding; and, helping to broker relationships between sectors.

Addictions: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what programmes are in place to support people with addictions.

Jo Churchill: The Government takes the issues of addiction seriously and recognises the harms they can cause to an individual and those around them. Anyone concerned about an addiction should initially approach their general practitioner for advice. Local authorities are responsible for assessing the needs of their local population and commissioning services to meet these needs, including commissioning services to support people to recover from alcohol and drug dependence. We are supporting them in this through the provision of data, guidance and targeted support and funding via the Public Health Grant. The public health grant will increase in real terms in 2020/21. This means local authorities can continue to invest in prevention and essential frontline health services.

Headaches

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he holds statistics on the number of people in the UK who suffer from chronic migraine which affects their quality of life.

Caroline Dinenage: Guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence states that migraine prevalence has been reported to be 2-25% in women and 2-10% in men. If someone is experiencing frequent or severe migraines symptoms, which is affecting their quality of life, they should visit their general practitioner for further medical advice.

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle addiction to prescription drugs.

Jo Churchill: The Government takes the issue of dependence to prescribed drugs very seriously and is taking action to protect people from inappropriate prescribing. In September 2019, Public Health England (PHE) published a review of available data and evidence on the problems of dependence and withdrawal associated with some prescribed medicines.The review assessed the scale and distribution of the problem and made recommendations for better monitoring and treatment. The full report, summary of the review and information for patients on what the review means for them can be accessed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prescribed-medicines-review-reportThe Government will consider the report in future policy development in this area. Additionally, the Government has introduced prominent warnings for all opioid medicines and is making sure prevention and social prescribing are at the heart of our NHS Long Term Plan to cut down on over-prescribing.

Leukaemia

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the diagnostic rate has been of each type of leukaemia in each of the last five years.

Jo Churchill: The attached table shows the rates of new diagnoses of leukaemia, by type, for the latest available five years.



pq1043 table
(Word Document, 19.45 KB)

Urinary System: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make pyeloplasty for kidney blockages available through the NHS.

Caroline Dinenage: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published Interventional Procedure (IP) Guidance on the use of laparoscopic pyeloplasty, which is used to treat blockages affecting the kidney, in 2004. NICE concluded that the evidence on the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic pyeloplasty appeared adequate to support the use of this procedure, provided that the normal arrangements are in place for consent, audit and clinical governance. The guidance can be found at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/Guidance/IPG46 IP guidance looks at procedures used for diagnosis or treatment. It considers if they are safe and work well enough for wider use in the National Health Service. Whilst compliance with IP guidance is not mandatory, it is considered best clinical practice for the NHS to take it into account.

Women's Health Taskforce for England

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 7 March 2019 to Question 226643 on Women's Health Taskforce for England, on what dates the Women's Health Taskforce for England has met since February 2019; what the topics of discussion were at each meeting; whether the draft Terms of Reference for the Taskforce have been approved; and whether plans for information and involvement  from (a) the Campaign Against Painful Hysteroscopy and (b) other campaign groups has been considered.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include outpatient hysteroscopy on the agenda of a future meeting of the Women's Health Taskforce for England.

Caroline Dinenage: Since February 2019, the Taskforce has met on two further occasions on the following subjects: 25 April 2019 on the menopause.4 July 2019 on menstrual health. The draft Terms of Reference were revised after the Taskforce met on 31 January 2019, focusing on unplanned pregnancy. All of these meetings were held, and the draft Terms of Reference revised, when the Taskforce was co-chaired by the then Parliamentary Under Secretary for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention (Jackie Doyle-Price MP). The Taskforce has not worked directly with the campaign against painful hysteroscopies or other campaign groups. The Taskforce is co-chaired by the President the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. There are currently no plans to include outpatient hysteroscopy as an agenda item for a future meeting of the Women’s Health Taskforce; it is, of course, possible that the issue will be discussed under a different agenda item in the future.

Department of Health and Social Care: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.

Jo Churchill: In developing policy, the Department draws on a range of analytical sources, as well as published and unpublished evidence. The Government is committed to improving the health of the population through all its policies. The Green Paper ‘Advancing Our Health: prevention in the 2020s’, published in July 2019, announced that the Government will develop a new composite health index to provide an indicator of health that can be tracked alongside gross domestic product. The index will measure changes in health over time and, along with other indicators, will be able to be used to assess the health impact of wider Government policies.

NHS: Drugs

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that global pharmaceutical companies are required to prioritise patient access to drugs ahead of profit.

Jo Churchill: The Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to medicines at prices that are fair and affordable to the National Health Service.In the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, we have a system for making independent, authoritative, evidence-based decisions that means that taxpayers can be assured that the price we pay for new medicines reflects the value they bring. Where companies are willing to set prices for their products that reflect the benefits they bring to patients, it is a system that has helped to ensure access to effective new treatments for many thousands of NHS patients.We are committed to accelerating patient access to innovative, life changing treatments, as well as supporting the United Kingdom’s position as a global leader in life sciences. The Early Access to Medicines Scheme gives people with life threatening or seriously debilitating conditions from across the UK early access to new medicines that do not yet have a marketing authorisation when there is a clear unmet medical need. Prior to market authorisation, companies provide their products for free to the NHS.In addition, we have strengthened the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) to serve as the umbrella body for UK health innovation. The AAC brings together senior leaders from across Government, industry and the health and care system, to work together in a more joined up way, act as the front-door for innovator support and accelerate patient access to the best new treatments and technologies.

Cancer: Screening

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to make it easier for people who cannot take time off work to attend cancer screenings.

Jo Churchill: Improving access to cancer screening programmes is one of NHS England’s key priorities. To help deliver this, plans for improving uptake in cancer screening during 2019-20 have been developed and shared with regional Public Health Commissioning leads for consideration and action. Plans cover opportunities for improving access that can be implemented locally and regionally in collaboration with charities, third sector organisations, and other parts of the National Health Service. These opportunities include:Increasing flexibility within existing services (e.g. extending out of hours appointments and making greater use of mobile screening units); andImproving accessibility to cancer screening via alternative settings (e.g. integrated in sexual health clinics).In addition to this, Professor Richards’ review of national adult screening programmes, published on 16 October, made a number of recommendations on increasing uptake and accessibility, including how we use financial incentives to promote out of hours and weekend appointments. Professor Richards called for more convenience with regard to screenings, saying patients should be able to choose appointments close to their work, and local screening services should put on extra evening and weekend appointments for breast, cervical and other cancer checks. The report also called for more to be done to drive uptake through social media campaigns and text reminders. The Department, NHS England and Public Health England will consider the recommendations of Professor Richards’ report and publish an implementation plan early next year.

Sugar: Consumption

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has on the impact of the sugar tax on trends in the level of sugar consumption.

Jo Churchill: Public Health England has not made an assessment of the effect of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) on the level of sugar consumption.The National Diet and Nutrition Survey is used to monitor trends in consumption of sugary soft drinks and sugar intakes. Data covering the period when the SDIL was introduced will be published in 2020.

Fast Food: Health Hazards

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect on public health of the availability of convenience food products.

Jo Churchill: The childhood obesity plan recognises that convenience food products high in fat, salt or sugar can lead to weight gain, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and some cancers. High levels of sugar intake also increase the risk of tooth decay. Many of the measures in the three chapters of our childhood obesity plan will have an impact on improving diet and reducing obesity across all age groups. These include the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and wider calorie reformulation programme, restricting promotions and calorie labelling in restaurants which will improve our eating habits and reduce the amount of sugar we consume.

Vaccination

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) declining rates of childhood vaccination and (b) anti-vaccine misinformation.

Jo Churchill: The Department is working with Public Health England (PHE), NHS England and NHS Improvement and other stakeholders to deliver a comprehensive vaccine and immunisation strategy this autumn. The strategy will set out a clear vision for maintaining and developing England’s world-leading immunisation programme over the next 10 years and beyond.Actions planned or underway to increase the uptake of childhood vaccination include:- Strengthening the role of local immunisation coordinators – healthcare professionals that promote vaccine uptake, particularly in under-served groups, by supporting areas with low uptake and tailoring specific local interventions to under-vaccinated communities;- Updating NHS.uk to ensure availability of National Health Service-approved, evidence-based and trusted advice on vaccines; and- A review of general practitioner vaccinations and immunisation standards, funding, and procurement to incentivise improved immunisation coverage.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commit to commencing routine commissioning of PrEP from April 2020.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress is being made towards the routine commissioning of PrEP.

Jo Churchill: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently provided in England through the three year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide the number of allocated places they can accept.The Department is continuing to work closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England and local authorities to plan for a seamless transition from the PrEP Impact Trial to routine commissioning from April 2020.

Suicide: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) children and (b) adults with an obsessive compulsive disorder who have died by suicide in each year for which data is available.

Ms Nadine Dorries: An assessment has not been made as information on trends in suicide rates among people diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder is not centrally collected.

Health Services: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the change in the level of spending on NHS services in Romford constituency since 2015.

Edward Argar: Information for Romford only is not available. However, the attached document from Havering Clinical Commissioning Group shows the levels of spending on NHS services for Havering.



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Department for International Development

Department for International Development: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which public appointments he is responsible for.

Andrew Stephenson: The public appointments that the department is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019. https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdfThis was last updated in April 2019.

Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa: Agriculture and Food Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding his Department has allocated to support (a) food aid programmes and (b) agricultural development in each country in (i) sub-Saharan Africa and (ii) Asia in each of the last five years.

Andrew Stephenson: DFID gathers information on agriculture and food aid expenditure at an aggregate organisational level and does not routinely analyse these expenditures by country. Table 1 shows DFID expenditure to support food aid programmes through the World Food Programme over the last five years. This includes both food delivery and cash-based transfers; the modality is chosen based on markets availability and needs. Table 1 Food Aid Expenditure by DFIDYearTotal contribution (£m)2014247,752m2015267,184m2016261,752m2017455,604m2018460,541m2019 (as of October 13)371,234m Table 2 shows DFID expenditure to support agricultural development through bilateral programmes and multilateral channels for the period 2013–2016. Data for later years is not currently available. Table 2 Agricultural Development Expenditure by DFIDYearTotal contribution (£m)2013617m2014663m2015705m2016718m In 2018 DFID conducted a review of its commercial agriculture portfolio which analyses information about 49 current agriculture programmes, including geography, and can be found here. DFID’s annual publication ‘Statistics on International Development’ contains detailed information on aid spending by the UK Government, including a breakdown of funding by destination country, and can be found here.

Developing Countries: Religious Freedom

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will include modules on freedom of religion or belief in his Department's capacity building programmes in Pakistan and other countries with reported violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief.

Dr Andrew Murrison: DFID already includes elements in our capacity building programmes which benefit religious minorities in Pakistan. Our new Aawaz II Accountability, Inclusion and Reducing Modern Slavery Programme builds on the Aawaz Voice and accountability programme. It will continue to work with communities to promote rights of children, women, youth and religious minorities, protect them from exploitation, and prevent discrimination. Through our Skills Development Programme, we fund the Punjab Skills Development Fund to provide technical and vocational skills training to the poor and vulnerable, including those from minority communities. An exclusive skills scheme has recently been launched by this Fund for religious minorities. Under this scheme, 5,000 people from religious minorities (40% women) who are unemployed will be trained in a variety of trades. More widely, through UK Aid Connect, DFID is funding a consortium led by the Institute of Development Studies to address challenges in building tolerance and freedom of religion and belief. In November 2018, Lord Ahmad and Lord Bates launched a £12 million UK Aid Connect programme to promote and defend freedom of religion or belief. This will make poverty reduction programmes more inclusive by highlighting and redressing religious inequalities, with a focus on highly volatile contexts.

Pakistan: Minority Groups

Ms Marie Rimmer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if he will include the category of religious minorities to the data that his Department collects on vulnerable populations in Pakistan.

Dr Andrew Murrison: DFID Pakistan is making efforts to include the category of religious minorities into the data that it collects on vulnerable populations by improving government data collection and protecting the rights of minorities. We currently collect data on minority status when there is a specific need for it, such as for our programmes which specifically aim at helping minority groups. We recently had some success in collecting more and better-quality data on people with disabilities in Pakistan. We learned from that and will build on it to focus our energy on collecting data from other vulnerable and minority groups.

Department for Education

Further Education: Finance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will increase funding in further education colleges to the level of £5,000 per student.

Michelle Donelan: The government announced on 31 August 2019 that it will invest an extra £400 million in 16-19 education in 2020-21, which will increase funding per student in further education colleges. This is the largest injection of money in a single year since 2010 and represents an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding. As part of this, the base rate of 16-19 funding for all types of providers will increase by 4.7% in academic year 2020/21, from £4,000 to £4,188. The average funding per 16-19 student in general further education colleges in 2019/20 academic year allocations is £4,677. A 4.7% increase in that level would take funding in 2020/21 to nearly £4,900 per year. Other elements of the £400 million uplift next year will increase funding per student still further, and are likely to bring average funding per 16-19 year old student in general further education colleges still closer to £5,000.The funding settlement for further education for adults aged 19 and over will be confirmed in due course. Further education and adult funding for 2021-22 onwards will be considered in the full Spending Review next year.

Department for Education: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the past 12 months.

Michelle Donelan: The department uses the Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics to inform health and wellbeing policy within the Civil Service. The department also measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole.The four personal well-being questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/july2017tojune2018.Over the past 12 months, the department has:provided Wellbeing Confident Leader training to most of our Senior Civil Servants;increased the numbers of Mental Health First Aiders;started to implement all 11 core and enhanced standards in the Stevenson/Farmer Thriving at Work report; andsigned up to participate in MIND’s 2020 Wellbeing Index for employers.

Children: Care Homes

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities do not own a children's residential care home.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual cost is of providing residential care to children in (a) local authority-owned homes and (b) privately owned homes.

Michelle Donelan: Regarding data on which local authorities do not own a children’s residential care home, this is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the Honourable Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.Regarding the annual cost of providing residential care to children, local authorities are required to submit annual outturn statements about their spending on children’s services, including spend on residential care, to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.This financial data collection asks for local authority annual expenditure to be split across the following categories:Own provision: expenditure on services provided or managed by the authorityPrivate: expenditure on services provided or managed by private sector entities such as profit-making companiesOther public: expenditure on services provided or managed by public sector entities such as other local authorities and other public providers (such as services provided by other local authorities or health bodies)Voluntary: expenditure on services provided or managed by third sector entities such as voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals. More information on the collection, including the provision captured within ‘residential care’, can be found in the outturn guide for local authorities at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/section-251-2017-to-2018. The most recent published outturn data is for 2017-18 and can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/la-and-school-expenditure-2017-to-2018-financial-year.The table below shows total annual expenditure on residential care across all local authorities in England in 2017-18 across the provision categories defined above. Total local authority expenditure on residential care by placement provider for 2017-18:  Own provision Private Other public Voluntary Total expenditureResidential care£410,665,000£866,003,000£12,587,000£34,582,000£1,323,836,000

School Leaving: Basic Skills

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy of (i) primary school and (ii) secondary school leavers in Romford constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Gibb: The number and percentage of pupils in state-funded schools, at the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2) and Key Stage 4 (KS4), who achieved the expected level of literacy or numeracy[1] in Romford constituency and England are in the attached tables. Figures relate to academic years 2013/14 to 2018/19 for KS2 and 2013/14 to 2017/18 for KS4. Data for the years 2009/10 – 2012/13 are not provided because collating this information is complex due to changes in the methodology, published content and producing this data would incur a disproportionate cost. KS4 data for 2018/19 is not provided because the Department will publish data for parliamentary constituencies as part of the ‘Key stage 4 performance, 2019 (revised)’ in January 2020. At KS2, attainment in Romford was above the national average in all subjects in all years for which data has been provided (2014-2019). In 2016, new tests and frameworks for teacher assessment were brought in at KS2. These changes mean that the expected standard from 2016 is higher and it is not possible to make direct comparisons between the results before and after these changes. Since 2016[2], attainment in Romford increased by 11% in the reading test, 12% in the Maths test and 6% in the grammar, punctuation and spelling test. These increases were greater than for state-funded schools in England as a whole during the same time period, which were 7%, 9% and 5%. At KS4, achievement of grades 9-4/A*-C in the English and Maths pillars of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)[3] are used. Achievement at grades 9-4/A*-C in the English and mathematics pillar of the EBacc are close for Romford and England from 2013/14 to 2017/18. However, for the English pillar Romford performed better than the national average in the last two years (77% in 2017/18 for Romford, compared to 75% nationally). For the Mathematics pillar, Romford’s attainment has been slightly lower than the national average (69% in 2017/18 for Romford compared to 70% nationally). Pupils must achieve at least a grade 4 in English and Maths at the end of KS4 or are required to resit these qualifications in post 16 education.  [1] There is not a definitive definition of expected level of literacy or numeracy for each key stage. Figures have been provided for achievement in English and Maths, or English and Maths subjects, in the headline or additional measures that were used for that key stage, in each academic year.[2] Changes made within the 2017/18 KS2 writing teacher assessment (TA) frameworks mean judgements in 2018 are not directly comparable to those made in previous years. This means there is not a suitable time series for comparisons between years for all of reading, writing and maths and the writing TA.[3] The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is a set of subjects at GCSE that keeps young people’s options open for further study and future careers. The EBacc comprises of: English language and literature; maths; the sciences; geography or history; a language.



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Pupil Premium: Special Guardianship Orders

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make all children who have been subject to a special guardianship order eligible for pupil premium funding.

Michelle Donelan: Since 2015-16, schools in England have been receiving £2,300 of pupil premium plus funding for each child recorded on their census as having left the care of an English or Welsh local authority on a special guardianship order. Children who are subject to a special guardianship order, without having been in local authority care, attract pupil premium if they have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years. Schools receive £1,320 for eligible primary-aged pupils and £935 for secondary-aged pupils.

Department for Education: Islam

Naz Shah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in his Department reported their religion as Islam in the latest period for which figures are available; what the reported ethnicity of those staff was; and how many of those staff were employed at each grade.

Chris Skidmore: As at 30 September 2019, 304 employees reported their religion as Islam. The reported ethnicity of these employees is included in table a, which has been attached. The reported grade of these employees is included in table b. To prevent the identification of individuals, totals have been rounded to the nearest 10.



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Foreign Students: Finance

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to provide funding for study abroad programs from 2020 in the event that UK students do not have access to Erasmus+ in time for the 2020-21 academic year.

Chris Skidmore: The government places great value upon international exchange and collaboration in education and training. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU and establish new relationships with academic institutions across Europe and the rest of the world.If it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU programmes as a third country. The draft Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation of general terms of participation. My officials are preparing for all eventualities and are considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange. These include potential domestic alternatives to the Erasmus+ programme for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond, should we need them.

Department for Education: Living Wage

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff of his Department are paid less than the London Living Wage; and what requirements his Department places on contractors to pay the London Living Wage to London-based staff.

Chris Skidmore: All employees based inside Greater London are paid at least the London Living Wage.The department supports the use of the Crown Commercial Service Public Sector Framework as the route to market for contingent workers. All contingent workers based inside Greater London are paid at least the London Living Wage.There are 93 employees based in regional offices outside of Greater London that are paid below the London Living Wage but are all paid more than the National Living Wage and the UK Real Living Wage.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Ethics

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment basis he has made of the potential effectiveness of implementing the recommendations of the Committee on Standards in Public Life report entitled Local Government Ethical Standards published on 30 January 2019.

Luke Hall: The government is currently carefully considering the Committee's recommendations and will issue a response in due course.

Housing: Domestic Abuse

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to extend automatic priority need for housing to survivors of domestic abuse.

Luke Hall: Legislation provides that a person who is pregnant, has dependent children, or is vulnerable as a result of having to leave accommodation due to domestic abuse already has priority need for accommodation.The Homelessness Reduction Act which came into force last April goes further, representing the most ambitious reform to homelessness legislation in decades, requiring local authorities to carry out assessments of the housing and support needs of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness and take reasonable steps to try and prevent or relieve their homelessness. Local authorities must ensure they tailor the advice to meet the needs of particularly vulnerable groups including those who are victims of domestic abuse.The government is committed to ensuring that the Homelessness Reduction Act is working for all including ensuring that those fleeing domestic abuse get the support they need. These duties apply irrespective of priority need or intentional homelessness, and the steps the local authority and the applicant are to take must be set out in a personalised housing plan.Through the Act, the government is ensuring that the new prevention and relief duties are providing help to all eligible people, including single people who do not have priority need. Although our data is still experimental the indications are this is happening. During the first year for which we have published data 263,720 households have had a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness accepted, and only 9,440 households have been issued with a 'non priority homeless' decision.In addition the government has invested £55.5 million in accommodation-based services to support victims of domestic abuse, including refuges since 2014. We are also continuing to provide funding through the Rough Sleeping Initiative to ensure that provision is in place for women who sleep rough.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many complaints nationwide were upheld by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in the last 12 months.

Luke Hall: Complaints data for 2018/19 can be found in the Ombudsman’s latest annual report and accounts: https://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/about-us/our-performance/lgo-annual-reports.It shows that 2,588 complaints were upheld in 2018/19.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many building owners of blocks over 18 metres in height have (a) not started the process of cladding removal from affected buildings and (b) do not have a remediation plan for the repair work in place.

Esther McVey: Holding answer received on 24 October 2019



This information can be found in the latest Building Safety Programme Monthly Data Release at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-safety-programme-monthly-data-release-september-2019 . This information is not broken down by building owner.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) social tenants and (b) leasehold tenants will be liable for the cost of remedial fire safety in a block of flats housing both groups which is owned by a Housing Association.

Esther McVey: Holding answer received on 24 October 2019



The government has consistently made clear that building safety is the responsibility of the building owner. Government intervention to provide funding for the removal of unsafe Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding is wholly exceptional, based on the unparalleled fire risk ACM poses.Government intervention does not remove responsibility for overall building safety from the building owners, and if other fire safety risks are uncovered they must remedy them. Building owners should consider all routes to meet costs, protecting residents where they can – for example through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work. The government consulted between June and July on building safety reforms and sought views on ways in which remediation costs could be mitigated. We are considering responses currently and will set out our conclusions by the end of the year.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of complaints made against independent personal independence payment assessment providers.

Justin Tomlinson: We are committed to ensuring that all claimants receive a fair, objective and accurate assessment as well as a quality service at all stages of a claim.In 2017 and 2018, complaint volumes for Assessment Providers equated to less than 1% of the total number of assessments carried out that year. However, the Department is continually working alongside the PIP Assessment Providers to further improve the quality of assessments.Assessment Providers engage with medical experts, charities and relevant Stakeholders to strengthen, review and update their training programmes. Alongside this, the Departments clinicians have been observing PIP assessments to provide further assurance of the face-to face assessment process and suggest areas for improvement.The Department ensures a high standard is always maintained by having an Independent Audit function that continually monitors the performance and provides feedback to our Providers. Improvements have been supported by two Independent Reviews of the PIP assessment process, and we take on board recommendations from the Select Committee Enquiry. This ensures that our Providers consistently exceed the Customer Satisfaction target of 90%.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animals: Exports

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department has allocated to accelerate the development of a digital system for processsing Export Health Certificates; when that system will be fully operational.

George Eustice: The digital system known as Export Health Certificate (EHC) Online will be available on gov.uk and allow exporters to complete and submit an online application for an EHC. EHC Online will provide a better user experience, automate processes and reduce running costs for the Government. The technology build is well developed and we are starting to test the system with stakeholders and users. EHC Online will be fully operational by the end of 2019 and we will be rolling this out to exporters, certifiers etc. in a phased way, sector by sector in early 2020. In fiscal year (FY) 18/19, £7.05 million was invested into the EHC Online system and in FY 19/20 a further £5.31 million has been spent to date. In September, we were allocated approximately £3.15 million of additional funding to support the development of the digital system for processing Export Health Certificates from the Operational Contingency Fund. Until EHC Online is delivered exporters will continue to follow the existing process on gov.uk.

Packaging: Waste Disposal

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to improve consumer education on using compostable packaging.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to (a) introduce and (b) enforce of European standards for compostable packaging in the UK.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to reform the producer responsibility system for packaging to make composting recognised as a form of recycling.

Rebecca Pow: The Government recognises that innovation into biodegradable and compostable packaging could help reduce the environmental impacts of packaging if it is disposed of in the right way. However, currently this is often not the case. If biodegradable packaging is put in the domestic waste bin, for example, it is likely to end up in landfill and can break down to release powerful greenhouse gases, such as methane. If biodegradable plastic is mistakenly recycled with other plastics, it has the potential to damage the quality of the new products made from the recycled plastic. As a consequence of these concerns, the Government published a call for evidence in July 2019 to help consider the development of standards or certification criteria for all bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. As we develop our proposals to reform the packaging producer responsibility system we will consider the role of composting, informed by the outputs of this work. Building on commitments in the Resources and Waste Strategy we launched a consultation earlier this year on reforming the packaging producer responsibility system, which proposed a mandatory UK-wide labelling system that provides clear information to help people to recycle. Defra officials are exploring how a mandatory labelling scheme can address consumer confusion about what to do with compostable packaging. We will take primary powers in the Environment Bill to enable us to implement a mandatory labelling scheme. The consultation closed on 13 May and the summary of responses and next steps can be found via the below link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/packaging-waste-changing-the-uk-producer-responsibility-system-for-packaging-waste

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Energy Supply

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 2 October 2019 to Question 290327 and to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question 290324, if she will introduce the same policy as the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and switch to an electricity provider that supplies electricity solely from renewable resources within the next 12 months; and for what reason her Department has not already ensured its electricity is supplied solely from renewable resources.

George Eustice: In response to PQ290397 Defra Group already procures 88% of the energy used in 2018/19 from renewable sources. In the core Department this rises to 99.9%. The Core Department’s energy policy states it will purchase renewable electricity from the Crown Commercial Services Electricity Frameworks. The only reason the Core Department utilises non-renewable electricity is where the landlord purchases the electricity for a leased site and then recharges the Core Department.

Agriculture: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) advice and (b) guidance his Department has issued to agri-food (i) farmers and (b) producers in Northern Ireland on that industry.

George Eustice: Implementing the outcome of the referendum to leave the EU raises significant issues for farmers and agrifood businesses. Whilst the Government’s preference is to leave with an agreement, we have been working hard taking steps to ensure people and businesses are prepared in the event that this is not possible. This includes: publishing numerous pieces of communications since August 2018, including technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens across the UK what they need to do to prepare; and contacting thousands of businesses who trade with the EU, telling them to start getting ready for no-deal customs procedures.

Animal Products: Imports

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the 12 week public consultation on trophy hunting imports will commence.

Zac Goldsmith: Last month we announced that we will be consulting on whether to further restrict the import and export of hunting trophies. We are acting quickly to respond to the public’s concerns and the consultation will be published in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies her department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the past 12 months.

George Eustice: We use Office for National Statistics (ONS) wellbeing statistics to inform Health and Wellbeing policy within the Civil Service. Defra also measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the ONS use for the UK population as a whole. The four personal well-being questions are: Life Satisfaction, Worthwhile, Happiness, and Anxiety. Further details can be found here. Defra has an established work-related health and wellbeing programme, as part of our Health & Safety Policy, incorporated into the overall health and safety management system. Defra recognises its legal duty to identify both physical and psychological risks to harm and put measures into place to minimise work-related ill health and injury. The Health & Safety Policy is supported by our agreed safety, health and wellbeing standards, risk assessments, guidance and training which are reviewed and updated regularly to meet our aspirations around continuous improvement. In the last 12 months specifically Defra has reviewed, refreshed and reinforced various services and support mechanisms in place to support employee health and wellbeing. This has included benchmarking against the core and enhanced standards in the ‘Thriving at Work Report’. For example Defra has implemented Mental Health First Aiders to support individuals in crisis, an internal employee-led mental health ‘buddy’ network. These improvements supplement our standard offer where employees have access to an external provider Employee Assistance Programme, and Occupational Health Service. Staff and Line Managers are encouraged to notify work-related stress via internal reporting procedures; follow up conversations help to identify areas to address and ensure individuals are signposted to appropriate support. A programme of regular wellbeing related webinars are available and we consult with areas of the business to provide bespoke health and wellbeing services as needed.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of sites of special scientific interest that have had no condition assessments undertaken in the last six years; and if she will publish the names of those sites.

Rebecca Pow: 56% (2,314) of the 4,125 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have not had an assessment by Natural England (NE) within the past six years. In 2010, NE adopted a different, risk-based approach rather than a fixed six-year cycle. NE continues to support and encourage partners in the work they themselves do to undertake SSSI condition assessments. Information on individual SSSIs, including site names and the dates of assessments, is published on Natural England’s Designated Sites View: https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/.

Air Pollution

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to reduce levels of fine particulate matter in the air.

Rebecca Pow: Our Clean Air Strategy, published in January 2019, proposes a comprehensive suite of actions required across all parts of Government to improve air quality and maximise public health benefits. This includes national regulations to reduce emissions from domestic burning, industry and farming, alongside an improved framework for local Government to tackle more localised issues. By implementing the policies in the strategy, we aim to reduce fine particulate matter concentrations and halve the number of people living in areas above the World Health Organisation guideline level for fine particulate matter by 2025. The measures in the Environment Bill take forward key aspects of this strategy, and give local authorities more effective tools for tackling domestic burning in smoke control areas, which will help reduce harmful particulate matter pollution. Through the Bill, we will also introduce a framework for setting legally binding environmental targets, along with a specific duty on Government to set a target for fine particulate matter, which will deliver significant public health benefits.

Environment Protection

Jane Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the Atomic Energy Community published on 19 October 2019 on the environment.

Rebecca Pow: Our high regulatory standards are not dependent on EU membership. The UK has an exceptional track record on environmental protection and this will not change after we leave the EU. Our landmark Environment Bill, introduced last week, marks a key step towards achieving a Green Brexit, and demonstrates how the UK is leading the world in setting legally binding domestic targets on environmental protection. In the political declaration, the UK and EU have agreed that the future relationship must ensure open and fair competition, encompassing robust commitments to ensure a level playing field. These commitments should uphold the common high standards applicable in the Union and the United Kingdom at the end of the transition period in the areas of state aid, competition, social and employment standards, the environment, climate change and relevant tax matters in order to prevent distortions of trade and unfair competitive advantages.

Home Office

Asylum: Uganda

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance has been issued to staff in her Department who are dealing with applications for asylum in light of the recent decision by the Ugandan Government to reintroduce a bill that imposes the death penalty on homosexuals.

Victoria Atkins: All asylum and human rights claims from Ugandan nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw.The Country Policy and Information Note on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, published in April 2019 and available on the Gov.uk website, points to the difficult environment for LGB persons in Uganda.We continue to monitor the situation in light of the recent media reports and will provide an update if and when necessary.Furthermore, decision makers have access to the latest available country information through an on-demand information request service to address particular issues raised in individual claims.

Convictions: DNA

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many wrongful conviction cases in England and Wales where an individual was exonerated by DNA evidence did the initial conviction involved witness identifications of the defendant.

Kit Malthouse: The information requested is not held.

Police Interrogation: Standards

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) police forces, (b) the Royal College of Policing and (c) Police and Crime Commissioners on (i) the potential benefits of the Self-Administered Interview (SAI) technique and (ii) making the SAI technique standard practice for police forces.

Kit Malthouse: We maintain an open dialogue with the police on how we can share best practice and enable them to more effectively investigate crime. The use of specific techniques, within lawful bounds, is an operational matter for chief constables.

Homicide

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government's policies on homicide prevention.

Kit Malthouse: On 17 October, the Office for National Statistics published the latest crime statistics for the year ending June 2019. These show a 5% decrease in police recorded homicide compared to the previous year. There was also a 5% decrease in attempted murder offences in the latest year compared to the previous year. The Government will continue to take decisive action to bear down on all forms of serious violence, including knife crime and domestic abuse, by giving the police the resources and powers they need to tackle and investigate these crimes. In addition, we have introduced a landmark Domestic Abuse Bill and a wide-ranging package of non-legislative measures to improve the protection available to victims and to strengthen the use of Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs), ensuring that the learning from DHRs is effectively shared and put into practice to avoid future homicides.

Criminal Investigation: Video Recordings

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential (a) merits and (b) feasibility of making video recording standard practice across all investigation stages of a crime.

Kit Malthouse: Codes E and F of the Policing and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 governs the conduct video and audio recording of interviews of non-terrorism suspects, including appropriate safeguards. All interviews of terrorist suspects in England and Wales must be audio and visual recorded. The use of video recording for other stages of the investigatory process is an operational matter for the police. Research has not been conducted on the impact of broader recording practices.The College of Policing published research on the impact of body worn video on outcomes. https://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/BWV_Report.pdf This found that a significantly higher proportion of incidents attended by officers wearing a camera resulted in a charge rather than other criminal justice outcomes (e.g. cautions).

Convictions: Biometrics

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of different facial composite methods and the subsequent effect on conviction rates.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office has made no assessment of the accuracy of different facial composite methods and any effect it has on conviction rates.

Offences against Children

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 8 October 2019 to Question 284692 on Offences against Children, whether the national strategy on child sexual abuse will be published this year.

Victoria Atkins: Our extensive efforts to tackle child sexual abuse (CSA) are already drawing this hidden crime out of the shadows and we are identifying more offenders and safeguarding more victims than ever before. However, we need to ensure that our response keeps up with the evolving nature of the threat. This is why we have publicly committed to develop a first of its kind, cross-government strategy on tackling all forms of CSA by the end of this year.The strategy will galvanise efforts at the local, national and international level to prevent, tackle and respond to all forms of child sexual abuse, driving a whole-system response to the problem. It will set out our ambition for the £30 million additional funding secured by the Home Secretary in the recent spending round, including our investment in cutting-edge technology and the best intelligence and law enforcement capabilities.It will also outline how we will continue to galvanise industry to bear down on the online threat and lead international efforts to tackle what is a cross-border crime, including through the Five Country Ministerial and the UK-funded WePROTECT Global Alliance Summit.

Visas: Spain

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her Spanish counterpart on the potential mutual benefits of short term visa free travel for the purposes of tourism.

Brandon Lewis: EEA and Swiss nationals will be able to continue to travel to the UK for holidays or short-term trips as they do now, without needing a visa.The EU has also announced that UK nationals would be able to enter the EU visa-free for short periods after the country’s exit, provided EU nationals enjoy the same conditions when travelling to the UK.Both these arrangements apply whether we leave the EU with or without a deal.

Antisocial Behaviour

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Victoria Atkins: Anti-social behaviour policy in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. In England and Wales the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and local authorities with a range of flexible powers that they can use to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour. To support local agencies decide when and how to use these powers the Home Office refreshed its statutory guidance for frontline practitioners on the use of the statutory powers in December 2017.We keep anti-social behaviour policy in England and Wales, including the effectiveness of the powers, under review through a National Anti-social Behaviour Strategic Board which brings together a range of partners and representatives from key agencies, including the police, local government, and other Government departments.

Climate Change: Demonstrations

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials in her Department have had with the Metropolitan Police on (i) the ban on Extinction Rebellion protests in London, (ii) Police identity checks on people walking across Lambeth Bridge and (iii) the stop and search of people wearing Extinction Rebellion stickers before the implementation of those powers; and if she will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: The right to protest peacefully is a long-standing tradition in this country and a vital foundation of our democracy.However, the rights to peaceful protest do not extend to unlawful activity and the police have powers to deal with any such acts. How the police use these powers is an operational matter for them.

Homelessness

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals there were for (a) rough sleepers and (b) people experiencing other forms of homelessness by (i) local authorities and (ii) local authority children’s services to the National Referral Mechanism in each of the last three years.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) consistency of (i) local authority and (ii) local authority children’s service referrals to the National Referral Mechanism in relation to the estimates of modern slavery prevalence among rough sleepers in the 15 October 2019 Hestia report Underground Lives: Homelessness and Modern Slavery in London.

Victoria Atkins: Government does not currently collect information on the number of rough sleepers referred into the NRM by Local Authorities.However, we recognise that there is a potential risk for people sleeping rough to become victims of modern slavery, and we want to ensure that local areas have the tools they need to identify modern slavery where they see it and provide the right support to victims.The Home Office will continue to work to improve the quality data around victim identification and will continue to review the data it publishes in relation to NRM referrals and the introduction of the new digital system provides an opportunity for Government to review the data to identify patterns of exploitation.Data on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) continues to be published regularly by the Single Competent Authority, available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-referral-mechanism-statistics

Abortion: Protest

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to keep the issue of anti-abortion clinic protests under review.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of anti-abortion clinic protests on healthcare professionals, and whether this assessment informed the anti-abortion clinic protest review.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of anti-abortion protest activity outside clinics on women’s human rights in light of the recent Court of Appeal ruling on the buffer zone around a Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to continue monitoring anti-abortion clinic protests.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office carried out an assessment to understand the scale and nature of protests outside abortion clinics to establish whether more should be done to protect those requiring an abortion. The previous Home Secretary set out his position on 13 September 2018 through a Written Ministerial Statement. A link to the statement can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-09-13/HCWS958.The Government recognises the adverse impact that anti-abortion protests can have on patients and staff and the Home Office is keeping this important matter under review. My officials regularly liaise with national policing leads to assess if there have been any developments on protest activities outside abortion clinics. The Home Office would welcome any new evidence that becomes available.I understand that the implementation of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in the vicinity of the Marie Stopes West London Centre in Ealing has proved successful in preventing protests and vigils taking place that were deemed to be having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality. In March 2019, a second PSPO was introduced around the British Pregnancy Advisory Service clinic in Twickenham.

Fire and Rescue Services

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to update the research on what steps firefighters should take when facing a fire since the Grenfell Tower fire.

Kit Malthouse: How firefighters tackle fires is an operational matter for fire and rescue services. In 2012, responsibility for the creation and maintenance of national operational fire-fighting guidance was transferred to the sector. National Operational Guidance for Incident Command is an essential guide to the safe systems if needed at an incident. National Operational Guidance is considered as national best practice and is regularly reviewed. The sector is currently developing national incident command standards and the NFCC has already issued guidance on simultaneous evacuation. We are also considering a proposal from the National Fire Chiefs Council to develop a research programme on these matters.

Visas: Overseas Students

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect on international student numbers of the decision to restrict UK student visas for foreign graduates to four months after completion of their studies.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision has been made for international students (a) studying and (b) recently graduated that are resident on their student visa since the previous restriction was made in 2012 who are not currently entitled to remain for two years after graduation to find a job.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to enable (a) current students and (b) recently graduated students still resident on their student visa to remain for two years after graduation in order to find a job.

Seema Kennedy: The Government welcomes international students to the UK, and recognises that they enhance our educational institutions both financially and culturally.The recent announcement of the new Graduate route demonstrates that the UK is globally focussed and our commitment to attracting the brightest and best talent from around the world to study and work in the UK.The UK already has an excellent and competitive visa offer for international students wanting to study at our world-class institutions and the introduction of the Graduate route is aimed at enhancing this by providing greater opportunities for talented international students who will be able to remain in the UK for two years to work once they have successfully completed their studies.The number of university-sponsored Tier 4 student visa applications increased by 11% in the year ending June 2019, and is at its highest recorded level.

USA: Extradition

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the (a) compliance of the Government of the United States with the 2003 UK-US extradition treaty and (a) effectiveness of that treaty for UK purposes.

Brandon Lewis: The UK-US extradition treaty is fair and balanced. The United States is fully compliant with its obligations under the treaty and it is effective for the purpose of extraditing wanted persons to the UK.Where someone in the UK is wanted by any country, the courts are able to exercise appropriate scrutiny over any request.

Road Traffic Offences: Speed Limits

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to prosecute foreign drivers convicted of speeding on UK roads; and if she will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: Enforcement of road traffic legislation is an operational matter for the police.The police are able to issue all motorists on the roads with fixed penalty notices for speeding. Motorists who cannot provide a verified UK address can be required to make an on-the-spot roadside payment, also known as a fixed penalty deposit.

Data Protection: USA

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the data sharing treaty between the UK and the US, which was laid before the House on 7 October 2019, will not maintain people's individual privacy.

Brandon Lewis: The UK US Agreement is a Data Access Agreement.This Agreement does not provide access to any data which is not already available via Mutual Legal Assistance, or in the case of Investigatory Powers, any data which would not have been available from a communications service provider if they were based in the UK. It simply ensures that data can be accessed more quickly.The safeguards in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 and the Crime (Overseas Productions Order) Act 2019 govern the application and issuing of request for orders to obtain data. These include tests that the data requested is necessary and proportionate.

Home Office: Jainism

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will invite representatives of the Jain community to national events organised by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: Britain’s Jain community makes a positive contribution to life in this country. This Government values its contribution immensely.The Government is always keen to work with the Jain community on matters that are important to them, and we will continue to do so.

Home Office: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which public appointments she is responsible for.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Secretary is responsible for making appointments to the following boards of public bodies and public offices:Advisory Council on the Misuse of DrugsAnimals in Science CommitteeAppointed Person under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002Biometric and Forensics Ethics GroupCollege of Policing Board of DirectorsCommissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric MaterialDesignate Domestic Abuse CommissionerDisclosure and Barring ServiceFirefighters’ Pensions Scheme Advisory BoardForensic Science RegulatorGangmasters and Labour Abuse AuthorityIndependent Anti-Slavery CommissionerIndependent Chief Inspector of Borders and ImmigrationIndependent Family Returns PanelIndependent Monitor of the Disclosure and Barring ServiceIndependent Office for Police ConductIndependent Reviewer of Terrorism LegislationLead Commissioner for Countering ExtremismMembers of the Visiting Committee of any immigration removal centre or short-term holding facilityMigration Advisory CommitteeNational Crime Agency Remuneration Review BodyOffice of the Immigration Services CommissionerPolice Advisory Board for England and WalesPolice (Discipline) Appeals TribunalPolice Remuneration Review BodySecurity Industry AuthoritySurveillance Camera CommissionTechnical Advisory BoardWimbledon and Putney Commons ConservatorThis list excludes appointments made by the Prime Minister and Her Majesty the Queen (Crown appointments).

Fires: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fires in Romford were attributable to faults in electrical installations and products in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available.

Kit Malthouse: The Home Office does not publish this information.Figures on electrical fires in London can be calculated using the Home Office’s Incident Level datasets, which can be found herehttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-incident-level-datasets Data on electrical fires at a national level are available in FIRE0605 here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables#cause-of-fire.

Knives: Crime

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of knife crime in each territorial police force in each of the last 10 years.

Kit Malthouse: Police recorded crime statistics published on 17 October by the Office for National Statistics show that across England and Wales, there has been a 7 per cent increase in offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year to June 2019, and a 44 per cent increase since 2010/11. These increases are thought to be partly due to improvements in the police recording of these offences. The latest force data are contained in the Open Data Tables to be found at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/839965/prc-knife-open-data-march2009-onwards-tables.odsWe are taking determined action to tackle knife crime and other serious violence. This includes giving the police the resources and tools they need to keep families, communities and our country safe. We have recently launched a national campaign to begin to recruit 20,000 new police officers over the next three years, and we are making it easier for the police to use stop and search powers.Police funding is increasing by more than £1 billion this year, including council tax and additional funding through the £100 million Serious Violence Fund. This Fund includes £63.4 million for surge operational activity, £35 million to support Violence Reduction Units, and £1.6 million to help improve the quality of data on serious violence. Thames Valley Police are receiving £1.94 million from the Fund for surge activity and a further £1.16 million for their Violence Reduction Unit.In addition, through the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, we are providing the police with more powers, and making it more difficult for young people to get hold of knives in the first place. The Act includes Knife Crime Prevention Orders which will give the police an important new tool to help them to work with people to steer them away from serious violence and knife crime.We continue to encourage all police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps, surrender of knives, including through amnesty bins, test purchases of knives from retailers, and educational events. The latest phase of the operation took place from 17 to 22 September.We are also addressing the root causes of crime by investing over £220 million in early intervention projects and in the Queens Speech on 14 October, it was announced that we would be bringing forward a new Serious Violence Bill to introduce a new legal duty on public bodies to prevent and tackle serious violence.

Human Trafficking

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of victims of trafficking or slavery who have been subject to immigration detention in each year since 2010.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office record the number of all individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and this information is published quarterly and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-referral-mechanism-statistics-quarter-2-2019-april-to-juneThis information does not distinguish between those detained under immigration powers and those living in the community. The reason for this is two-fold, firstly because the NRM referral is not an immigration route by which individuals should regularise their stay in the United Kingdom and secondly, because a person’s status in immigration detention is not permanent and can change.The use of immigration detention in all cases is subject to regular reviews and consequently, a change in circumstance may result in a different consideration. It is quite possible that an immigration detainee is referred to the National Referral Mechanism during a detention period and is released into the community at any point during that process.

Scotland Office

Food Banks: Scotland

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to visit a food bank in November 2019.

Mr Alister Jack: I currently have no plans to visit a food bank in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland in November 2019.

Scotland Office: Glasgow East

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on which dates (a) he and (b) a Minister in his Department last attended an official engagement in Glasgow East constituency.

Mr Alister Jack: Scotland Office Ministers travel throughout Scotland and meet with stakeholders to discuss a wide variety of issues on a regular basis, including in the Glasgow area.

Citizens Advice Scotland

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, on which date he last met representatives of Citizens Advice Scotland; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Mr Alister Jack: I met with the Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice Scotland on 24 September 2019 during which a wide range of current issues were discussed.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Government

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the supply and confidence agreement arrangement between the Government and the Democratic Unionist Party on the Government's discussions with other political parties in Northern Ireland.

Julian Smith: The political talks with the Northern Ireland parties on restoring devolution are, quite rightly, handled separately from any confidence and supply discussions with our partners in the DUP.

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he last met the leadership of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

Julian Smith: I last spoke to the leadership of the SDLP on 17 October.

Sinn Fein

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he last met the leadership of Sinn Fein.

Julian Smith: I last spoke to the leadership of Sinn Fein on 23 October.

Alliance Party

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he last met the leadership of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.

Julian Smith: I last spoke to the leadership of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland on 25 October.

Northern Ireland Green Party

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he last met the leadership of the Green Party of Northern Ireland.

Julian Smith: I last spoke to the leadership of the Green Party of Northern Ireland on 25 October.

Ulster Unionist Party

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he last met the leadership of the Ulster Unionist party.

Julian Smith: I last spoke to the leadership of the Ulster Unionist party on 17 October.

Army: Northern Ireland

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has met with the (a) families of the victims of (i) the events in Ballymurphy in August 1971 and (ii) Bloody Sunday and (b) other victims’ families and groups, to discuss proposals for a statute of limitations.

Julian Smith: It would not be appropriate to discuss particular incidents whilst legal proceedings are ongoing. However, the views of victims groups and families on how to address the legacy of Northern Ireland's past have been sought with many of the 17,000 responses received from individuals whose lives have been touched by the Troubles. Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office have also recently met with a number of victims and victims groups to discuss these issues.

Homicide: Loughinisland

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the cost to the Police Service of Northern Ireland is of Operation Yurta.

Julian Smith: As policing and justice are devolved matters, the costs for this investigation are matters for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and, as appropriate, the devolved Department of Justice. PSNI have advised that the estimated cost of this investigation to the end of September 2019 is £254,004. This includes Durham Constabulary costs up to the end of July 2019. PSNI have also indicated that as this is an ongoing investigation, further costs will be incurred.

Abortion: Northern Ireland

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what legal protections in place between 22 October 2019 and 31 March 2020 to protect health professionals in Northern Ireland that have a conscientious objection to abortion.

Julian Smith: I published guidance for health professionals on 7 October 2019 on gov.uk/nio that sets out the changes to the law on access to abortion services for healthcare professionals and what this means for them in relation to their patients during the interim period. No healthcare professionals will be compelled to provide services, other than treatment which is necessary to save the life of the woman or girl, or to prevent grave permanent injury to her physical or mental health. In the interim period (prior to the legal framework coming into force by 31 March 2020) if a healthcare professional has a conscientious objection to abortion, they can raise this with their employer and follow relevant guidance from their professional body. We will be shortly consulting on the new legal framework. We will continue engaging with healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland to ensure that the legal abortion provisions can also be accompanied by professional guidance and professional standards of practice to assist healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland to clearly understand their legal rights, obligations and duties from 31 March 2020.

Treasury

Treasury: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being in formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve personal well-being in the last 12 months.

Mr Simon Clarke: HM Treasury uses ONS wellbeing statistics to inform health and wellbeing policy within the department. The Treasury also measures personal wellbeing through the annual Civil Service People Survey using the same national statistics that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) use for the UK population as a whole. The survey includes personal wellbeing questions covering life satisfaction, worthwhile, happiness and anxiety.  Over the past year the department has implemented the following initiatives to support well-being: access to the Wellbeing Gateway that includes quick guides and links to policy and support for the most common wellbeing issues, development of a Wellbeing Hub detailing all the wellbeing and resilience support and training available; provision of ‘Wellbeing Confident Leader’ workshops to the senior civil service (SCS) staff and introduction of the Stress Talking Toolkit to help with the difficult conversations around stress and mental health.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 293443, on Public Sector: Redundancy Pay, what recourse is available to public servants who have not had the waiver system applied to their exit payment and wish to challenge that decision.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 293443 on Public Sector: Redundancy Pay, how that waiver system will operate; and if he will make a statement.

Rishi Sunak: The published draft HM Treasury Directions set out circumstances where the power to relax restrictions must be exercised (“mandatory cases”) and may be exercised (“discretionary cases”). In discretionary cases, the relevant delegated authority must submit a business case to the sponsoring department for approval of the Principal Accounting Officer and the relevant Minister before submitting the business case to HM Treasury for approval. In mandatory cases, there is no requirement to send a business case to HM Treasury for approval.The government is currently considering responses to the consultation and the consultation response will provide more detail in due course.

Sugar: Taxation

Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has accrued to the public purse as a result of the sugar tax in each year since it was introduced.

Mr Simon Clarke: Payment of SDIL must be made to HMRC within 30 days after the end of the quarterly liability period. Based on cash receipts, the estimated accrual of SDIL for 2018/19 is £318m, and for the period between April and September 2019/20, £85m.Monthly and annual receipts from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy are published in HMRC’s National Statistics publication, which can be accessed via this link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-ukMoney that is collected from the levy helps fund physical education activities in primary schools, the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund.

Treasury: Public Appointments

Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which public appointments he is responsible for.

Mr Simon Clarke: The public appointments that the Treasury is responsible for making are set out in the Schedule to the Public Appointments Order in Council 2019. https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2019-Public-Appointments-Order-In-Council.pdf

Energy: VAT

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effect of changes to the reduced rate of VAT for energy-saving materials on the rate of uptake of those materials.

Jesse Norman: Around 1,500 future installations of solar panels, energy-saving boilers and wind turbines are expected to be affected annually, plus some other smaller scale items, by the changes to the VAT rules for energy-saving materials. This represents less than 5 per cent of the value of all installations currently eligible for the reduced rated. It is anticipated that these changes will have a negligible impact on the environment. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published by HMRC on GOV.UK on 10 July 2019.

Energy: VAT

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the eligibility for the reduced rate of VAT for energy-saving materials to (a) charities, (b) community groups, (c) public bodies and (d) social enterprises.

Jesse Norman: In 2015 a Court of Justice of the European Union decision said that the scope of the UK’s VAT relief on energy saving materials was too wide.Following discussions with the European Commission, the Government has maintained the reduced rate of VAT for certain energy saving materials for people who are aged 60 or over or in receipt of certain benefits, and for housing associations or certain residential buildings, such as children’s homes or care homes. In all other cases, the reduced rate will still apply unless the value of the materials exceeds 60% of the total cost of installation. In such cases the reduced rate will apply to the labour costs of installation. There may be flexibility to amend VAT rules in the future, but while the UK is a member of the EU it is required to comply with EU VAT rules.

Public Expenditure: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total spent from the public purse in Romford constituency in each year since 2010.

Rishi Sunak: HM Treasury does not collect expenditure information on total government spend at the constituency level. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government produce local government expenditure statistics, which is part of total government spend.

Taxation: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of total tax receipts from the Romford constituency in each year since 2010.

Jesse Norman: HMRC publish total tax revenue for the United Kingdom. A link to the publication is below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk Estimates for revenue by constituency for each head of duty are not available apart from Income Tax, stamp duty land tax, and child and working tax credits. Estimates of income and Income Tax for taxpayers resident in each parliamentary constituency are available for 2016-17 to 2010-11, and are available in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-tax-by-parliamentary-constituency-2010-to-2011 Estimates of total stamp duty land tax yield attributable to residential and non-residential land and property transactions in each parliamentary constituency are available for 2018-19 to 2010-11 in the links below: 2018-19 to 2012-13: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-stamp-tax-statistics2010-11 to 2011-12: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/stamp-duty-land-tax-by-parliamentary-constituency-and-government-office-region Estimates of the number of recipient families receiving Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Working Tax Credit (WTC) in each parliamentary constituency are available in the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-provisional-awards-geographical-analyses-december-2013

Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Act 2018

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to review the provisions of Part 6 of the Taxation (Cross Border) Trade Act 2018.

Jesse Norman: The Government does not currently intend to review the provisions of Part 6 of the Taxation (Cross Border) Trade Act 2018.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 69 on Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services, how many calls were (a) received and (b) made by the imports and exports helpline by (i) nation, (ii) region and (iii) sector.

Jesse Norman: By the 17th October HMRC have made a total of 4421 Inbound calls and 36,732 Outbound calls. HMRC do not collect data on nation, region or sector.

Wines: Excise Duties

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Treasury received in wine duty receipts for the first quarter of (a) 2018-19 and (b) 2019-20.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of wine duty receipts for the first quarters of 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Mr Simon Clarke: Total wine duty for the first quarter of 2018-19 and 2019-20 are £1086m and £1061m respectively. Information on the amount of excise duty collected on wine, is are routinely published online by HM Revenue & Customs.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/alcohol-bulletin The Wine duty rates were increased on the 1st February 2019. An assessment of the impact of this measure on an annual basis was published at budget 2018 and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increase-in-alcohol-duty-rates/alcohol-duty-uprating

Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the increase in excise duty was for (a) wine, (b) beer and (c) spirits from 2010 and 2015.

Mr Simon Clarke: Information on the amount of excise duty collected on alcohol, and the rates of the various duties are routinely published online by HM Revenue & Customs. This also includes information about the increase in excise duty from 2010 to 2015. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/alcohol-bulletin